Six Rings Unbroken

[John Fredrick Parker]

Five Rings Unbroken

October 2, 2009 – The first round of voting was finished. Countless cities and countries had spent millions in lobbying, ad campaigns, and organizing; when it was narrowed down to four candidates, millions more were spent; earlier that day, world leaders, entertainers, athletes, and more had flown to Denmark to speak in favor of the four venues; and now it was up to the members of the IOC. And after today, there would be a selection, and the location of the 2016 Olympics would be known to the world.

But first the four had to become three -- and the votes for that were now in.

Madrid -- 28 votes
Rio de Janeiro -- 26 votes
Chicago -- 21 votes
Tokyo -- 20 votes

And by the narrowest of margins, Tokyo was out of the running. In the next round 11 of the 20 Tokyo votes went to Chicago's biggest competitor, Rio leaving little enough, that Chicago once again narrowly averted elimination, gaining neither of the additional votes permitted for the second round.

Rio de Janeiro -- 38 votes
Chicago -- 30 votes
Madrid -- 29 votes

The world watched -- Obama fans in America rooting for Chicago, Brazilians in mass gatherings cheering on their city. The next round put 30 votes at play -- those who had voted for Madrid in the second, plus two more eligible votes. And the vote came in:

Chicago -- 51 votes
Rio de Janeiro -- 46 votes
Abstentions – 2

And after two narrowly averted eliminations, the Windy City was to be the venue for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. This announcement would mean many things, but at this precise moment, the American media only really had one thing to say about it -- that 2009 really was turning out to be a good year for their new President, Barack Obama.



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OOC: Yes, this is me trying to start a timeline, so long after my last one -- I figured I give one a go for my 5,000th post, and a PoD this late might give me a better chance of "completing" it this time; but we'll see. Oh, and thanks to Codae for the title

[Nazi Space Spy]

So the POD is about the Olympics heading to Chicago? That's a good, fresh one . I will be following.

[John Fredrick Parker]

Thanks. This TL will actually have a US politics focus, but I'll try to throw in Olympics stuff when I can

[Aztinca]

Sooo, starting off a TL with a Chicago Olympics in 2016 being announced around the starting corner of the Obama Administration....I just hope your not thinking about having the Tea Party protest the Olympics for being a Fascist affair.

[John Fredrick Parker]

Attendees at the Conservative “Defending the American Dream Summit” great news of Chicago's Olympic Victory with boos, criticism

--minor headline at Politico.com, October 2, 2009

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October 2-4
Approve: 53%
Disapprove: 39%

October 7-9
Approve: 57%
Disapprove: 37%

--Gallup Poll, Obama Approval Rating

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Good week with IOC, Nobel Prize, gives Obama 20 point spread in polls

--minor headline at Politico.com, October 10, 2009

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Hey, criticism's one thing, loyal opposition's one thing, but the Tea Party -- look, let's just look at the past month alone here.

October has been filled with what would, to just about any sane individual, appear to be good news for -- look, not just for the Obama Administration, but for America. I mean, the President's home town of Chicago was chosen to host the 2016 Olympics, a week later comes the news that Obama himself had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Administration's been making progress on gay rights, reaffirming an end to Don't Ask Don't Tell, signing the Matthew Shepard Act.

And what does the right do? America getting the Olympics is suddenly “Obama selling out America to his Eurpean Elite buddies” [sic]; Obama getting the Nobel Prize is a “travesty” because “he doesn't really deserve it” -- nevermind the President essentially agreed with them.

But that's just the Tea Party -- a good day for America is just another chance to take a shot at the President.

--Paul Begala on Real Time with Bill Maher, October 30, 2009

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Little surprise from the primary elections in Massachussetts today, as Martha Coakley was chosen as the Democratic nominee, and Scott Brown was chosen for the Republicans.

--CNN.com, December 8, 2009

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On the legislative side, the big story had to be the US Senate finally voting its version of Health Care Reform. Joe Lieberman played a central role in getting the Senate to drop the Public Option from its version. If, like the President, you think the Public Option is getting a disproportiante amount of press coverage for what it'll do, then the fight is pretty much over. For those who think this dropped element is the most important part of the reforms being discussed, you'll want to pay really close attention to the Conference Committee -- that's where Lieberman will face down against the House Progressives, who have vowed to vote against any reform without a Public Option, and they'll see who blinks first. (That's of course, not accounting for how the election in Massachussetts plays out, but that's for another time.)

--Jonathan Bernstein, Plain Blog About Politics, “What Mattered This Month”, December 29, 2009

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OOC: This is my second attempt at the second update; I figured I'd take out the filler parts that were exactly as OTL, aside from those things I actually had plans for.

[Dathi THorfinnsson]

Why six rings? Am i missing something?

[John Fredrick Parker]

Originally Posted by Dathi THorfinnsson

Why six rings? Am i missing something?

Oh crap, I just noticed that. Too late to change now, unfortunately

[starwarsfan]

Good TL I am hoping the tea party doesn't become as prominent as it is now.

[MrHuman]

Originally Posted by John Fredrick Parker

Oh crap, I just noticed that. Too late to change now, unfortunately

No it's not. Click "Edit" and then "Go Advanced". You should be able to change it.

[John Fredrick Parker]

Originally Posted by MrHuman

No it's not. Click "Edit" and then "Go Advanced". You should be able to change it.

Well, it's changed in thread, but still shows the old one on the board...

[John Fredrick Parker]

Health Care Reform will circumvent Conference Committee, say Democrats; Will use “Ping Pong” Method

--Politico.com, minor headline, January 4, 2010

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So the White House and the campaign arranged for the President to come out in just two days, one week before the election -- I guess they had seen a recent poll with Brown winning and decided we needed a boost, which is overanxious if you ask me, but who am I to say no, you know? Anyway he comes out on the 12th, gives his speech, all goes well, but then he pulls me aside after and says “Why the 'H' aren't you out there? Why no baby kissing, why no retail politics?” Again, I thought it was a bit much, but after that nobody wanted to -- because you know, even if he was wrong and I still won, it doesn't hurt to just listen to the President when he's in your party.

--allegedly said by Coakley in recording her memoirs

No, I haven't been shaking a lot of hands lately, but that's something I'm going to work on. Thank you.

--Martha Coakley to a reporter, just before dodging into her car, January 13

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Martha Coakley (D) -- 50.45% -- 1,212,361
Scott Brown (R) -- 48.62% -- 1,168,292

--final results of the 2010 Massachussets Special Election

OOC: That's my big update today. One more mistake Coakley doesn't make TTL is confusing Curt Schilling for a Yankees fan -- it's a butterfly from way back in October when sports talk intersecting with political punditry got her to spend some time on the Red Sox webpage.

[Garrison]

Interesting TL. The unanswered question is whose going to pay for Chicago 2016? 2012 came in at £9.3 Billion, about $15 billion, and inflation will probably make 2016 more expensive than that whatever their original estimates say. Beijing, London, and OTL Rio 2016 were underwritten by national governments. I can see some President being asked to help bail it out or face national humiliation.

[John Fredrick Parker]

Originally Posted by Garrison

Interesting TL. The unanswered question is whose going to pay for Chicago 2016? 2012 came in at £9.3 Billion, about $15 billion, and inflation will probably make 2016 more expensive than that whatever their original estimates say.

From what I've (albeit, hastily) gathered, this is quite likely since city officials at the time seemed to have a high end estimate for the cost at $750 million. (Even the UK had an initial estimate of $3.9 billion though I suppose that could mean Chicago poses different challenges than London, and might cost less?)

[John Fredrick Parker]

It's for these reasons that I'm proposing a simple and common-sense reform, which we're calling the "Volcker Rule" -- after this tall guy behind me. Banks will no longer be allowed to own, invest, or sponsor hedge funds, private equity funds, or proprietary trading operations for their own profit, unrelated to serving their customers. If financial firms want to trade for profit, that's something they're free to do. Indeed, doing so –- responsibly –- is a good thing for the markets and the economy. But these firms should not be allowed to run these hedge funds and private equities funds while running a bank backed by the American people.

--President Obama, January 21, 2010



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And it is precisely to relieve the burden on middle-class families that we still need health insurance reform. (applause) Yes, we do. (applause) Now, let's clear a few things up. (laughter) I didn't choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt. And by now it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics. (Laughter.) I took on health care because of the stories I've heard from Americans with preexisting conditions whose lives depend on getting coverage; patients who've been denied coverage; families –- even those with insurance -– who are just one illness away from financial ruin...



We will continue to go through the budget, line by line, page by page, to eliminate programs that we can't afford and don't work. We've already identified $20 billion in savings for next year. To help working families, we'll extend our middle-class tax cuts. (beat) Let me say that again: we will extend the middle-class tax cuts. But... (applause) But at a time of record deficits, we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, for investment fund managers, and for those making over $250,000 a year. We just can't afford it. (applause)...



This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are. (applause.) It's the right thing to do. (applause)...

And we should continue the work of fixing our broken immigration system -– to secure our borders; enforce our laws; and ensure that everyone who plays by the rules can contribute to our economy and enrich our nation (applause)...

--President Barack Obama, snippets taken from the State of the Union, January 22, 2010

[Garrison]

Originally Posted by John Fredrick Parker

From what I've (albeit, hastily) gathered, this is quite likely since city officials at the time seemed to have a high end estimate for the cost at $750 million. (Even the UK had an initial estimate of $3.9 billion though I suppose that could mean Chicago poses different challenges than London, and might cost less?)

Anything's possible but with inflation and the fact that they will have to build a lot of venues from scratch, and there's the issue of legacy that the IOC is so keen on, it's probably going to cost around the same even if they keep budget under control, and that's a big ask since I don't think any Olympic City has managed it in recent times.

[John Fredrick Parker]

Originally Posted by Garrison

Anything's possible but with inflation and the fact that they will have to build a lot of venues from scratch, and there's the issue of legacy that the IOC is so keen on, it's probably going to cost around the same even if they keep budget under control, and that's a big ask since I don't think any Olympic City has managed it in recent times.

Wow, so Chicago, in this case, would have the Olympics cost over 19 times what was originally estimated by the city -- and possibly more? That is... a bit more than egg on the face

[Garrison]

Originally Posted by John Fredrick Parker

Wow, so Chicago, in this case, would have the Olympics cost over 19 times what was originally estimated by the city -- and possibly more? That is... a bit more than egg on the face

I suspect Chicago being over optimistic about the budget may have counted against them OTL. The original London 2012 estimate was about £2.4 billion. The big kicker tends to be infrastructure. Rio has budgeted at $2.82 billion for the games(and they aren't even building a stadium from scratch!) BUT there's another $11.1 billion earmarked for transport power and security.

[e of pi]

Perhaps have some of that in the PoD? More reasonable/realistic budget estimates?

[Orville_third]

There is a sizable anti-Games movement IRL. This could start mobilizing and might even bring about some changes. Perhaps no Mayor Rahm? (If so, PLEASE have Moseley-Braun win!)

[John Fredrick Parker]

Originally Posted by Orville_third

There is a sizable anti-Games movement IRL. This could start mobilizing and might even bring about some changes. Perhaps no Mayor Rahm? (If so, PLEASE have Moseley-Braun win!)

Getting her to third place is easy peasey, getting her to second -- considering Chico got nearly three times her vote numbers OTL -- would be trickier.